A question about AC and HVAC controls

Since I bought my 308 just before winter last year I'm just now getting to the point where a bit of AC would be nice. Summer has been running behind schedule up here in Canada. I tried to run the AC in the car and had no luck.

The problem with the AC (I was told that it worked as part of the PPI last year) seems to be the fan control. The knob does not really move freely and the manual mentions turning the it counterclockwise to engage the fan, however the numbering starts at 1 and goes up to 3 in the clockwise direction. The switch does not click, or turn smoothly through the 3 positions. If someone could explain how it works in their car I'd appreciate it.

I've also noticed that I get hot air blowing into the cabin from the vents even with the temp control pushed all the way to the blue/cold area and the air distribution levers pushed to point 0 (per the manual). Is there a different way to set the levers to cut off all air to the cabin? If I have the levers sorted correct is it possible to adjust the cables to fully shut off the coolant circulation to the heater core?

Thanks in advance for sharing your wisdom!